Friction in Steering Box

Late XJs are known for having "stiff" steering due to extra friction engineered into the steering boxes, supposedly to give Cherokees a "solid" feel. To me it makes the XJ feel "dead." My 2001 XJ suffered from WAY too much friction to where when I got it a couple of years ago, it wouldn't self center after a turn.

I prefer the earlier feel like my '96 XJ had due to the ease of which the steering wheel self-centered and the way it made the vehicle feel "alive."

I backed off on the box adjustment on my '01 to the maximum possible w/o inducing any play in the wheel, and while this reduced the friction considerably, it's still hardly as free and frictionless as the earlier boxes. I put up w/ this for a while now, and I now want it "right" because I just drove my old XJ today and it is SO much nicer than even my re-adjusted '01.

Anyone have a fix w/o replacing the box?
Failing that, what year did they start installing these new boxes?
Some suppliers show the same part # for all year XJs, while one box re-builder said they could "rebuild" a box to meet either standard, though he didn't know which years had what.
I would possibly consider installing a used box if I knew what years to avoid.

Bob

Have you checked your alignment lately?
Return to center is mostly affected by the caster adjustment.

To properly adjust the box, it should be removed and done on a bench.
Friction in the box could be from bad bearings or other worn parts.

The shop manual says that the caster angle is set by proper driveline angle, with caster a secondary consideration. I was thinking of shimming the control arms (caster) until I experience driveline vibration then going 1 deg less to see if the friction is overcome by the caster.

As far as the alignment being "off," the toe is right on, and the vehicle doesn't pull either way. The Jeep has 95% Interstate miles and has never been off pavement, with nothing bent or maladjusted (the shop said caster was right in the middle of factory specs).

I drove several 2000 and 2001 XJs and they ALL had a similar heavy, "dead' feel to them, with poor self centering. The magazine test reports I read on the 2001 XJs (online) all mentioned the awful steering feel so I assumed it was characteristic of the later ones.

My '00 TJ steering is nice and "free" but then the rebuilder said that TJ boxes are set up differently than late XJs.

Perhaps the late XKs suffered from a bad run of boxes since yours seems to be OK I gather, and you have probably driven earlier ones to compare it to?

Then again, since no else responded, maybe only a few XJs demonstrate this characteristic, and I just need to drop in a new box and see if it helps.

Bob

I have the same friction in my steering box. I noticed it immediately when I bought it, and it seems to be worse going left. I don't have a problem with it returning to center though. I think the fix is to replace the gear box. There are threads here on doing a Durango gear box swap that would solve the problem. My 2000 only has 73k miles, and I hate to tear into that box just for a little friction, but I do know what you mean.

robert2008 said:

I have the same friction in my steering box. My 2000 only has 73k miles, and I hate to tear into that box just for a little friction, but I do know what you mean.

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Are you talking about actual friction or is it harder to turn than other Cherokees.

When the box is built, the amount of steering effort can be adjusted by changing the ‘torque bar’. Light bars bend more easily, providing more boost.
Newer Cherokees may have firmer (heavier torque bar) steering from the factory.
When I replaced the worn box in my 2001 with a PSC box, the ease of turning, compared to the old box, was very pronounced.

Or are you experiencing actual grinding or using too much effort to overcome an over-center adjustment that is too tight?

A friend was experiencing hard steering in his 2000 XJ. Turned out his power steering pump was going out and was producing very little pressure. A new pump cured his problem.